Neighborhood Market Spotlight: Queen Anne & Magnolia

The Queen Anne/Magnolia area of Seattle comprises these two areas as well as a western portion of South Lake Union, near Amazon’s campus. Magnolia is the site of Discovery Park and The Homes at Fort Lawton, a community of restored homes offered by Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. This area includes The Center School, one of the top-rated public high schools in Washington. It also includes the Seattle waterfront northwest of Belltown, where F5 Networks’ headquarters are located.
Expedia.com’s forthcoming move from Bellevue to its new campus along the Interbay waterfront between Queen Anne and Magnolia is expected to ultimately employ 4,500. Many employees will likely seek to reduce commute times from the Eastside in favor of a Seattle address, helping yet again to drive more demand for housing close to the urban core. Queen Anne and Magnolia are especially desirable neighborhoods close to Amazon, one of Seattle’s leading employers. So it should not come as a surprise that homes here have been in high demand, with the market supply scarcely exceeding six weeks in all of 2015. Days in inventory averaged 34 in 2015, 51 in 2014, and 57 in 2013.

Properties in the Queen Anne/Magnolia area maintained their premium over King County median sale prices during the past year, with an 11.5 percent year-over-year gain more than twice that of 2014. The 2015 median price was 37 percent higher than the countywide median. The more volatile price trend reflects the market size limitations and the unique qualities of properties for sale here. This area saw more competitive bidding within the past year, driving sale prices higher than the list price.